Whiteboard assembly

ABSTRACT

A white board assembly including a wall mountable base structure upon which a frame structure constructed of a plurality of frame members that each have grooves defining a panel receiving space into which a display panel may be inserted through and removed from a slot provided by at least one of the frame members. The frame structure is affixed to the base structure in such a way that allows the frame structure to be moved between an open and closed position. A writing panel is mounted to at least one of the base structure and the frame structure in such a way that when the frame structure is in the closed position, the writing panel is concealed and the display panel is displayed. When the frame structure is in the closed position, the writing panel is displayed.

BACKGROUND

The present invention is generally related to writing panels, and moreparticularly, but not by way of limitations, to an improved whiteboardassembly.

Conventional whiteboards are typically either very large or exceedinglyunattractive in a home or professional office. Persons with a desire toteach their children in a home school environment do not want to suspenda whiteboard on their wall for teaching. Their home décor typicallywould not be complimented by the whiteboard on the wall. Further,whiteboards are not commonly used in the homes of its users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a whiteboard constructed in accordancewith the inventive concepts disclosed herein shown in a closedcondition.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the whiteboard assembly shown in apartially open condition.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the whiteboard assembly shown in a fullyopen condition.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the whiteboard assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the inventive concepts indetail, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts disclosedherein are not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction, experiments, exemplary data, and the arrangement of thecomponents set forth in the following description or illustrated in thedrawings. The inventive concepts are capable of other embodiments orbeing practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to beunderstood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is forpurposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Referring now to the drawings, shown therein is a whiteboard assembly 10constructed in accordance with the inventive concepts disclosed herein.The whiteboard assembly 10 includes a base structure 12, a framestructure 14 affixed to the base structure 12, and a pair of writingpanels 16 mounted to the base structure 12 and the frame structure 14whereby when the frame structure 14 is in a closed position the writingpanels 16 are concealed from view and when the frame structure 14 is inan open position, the writing panels 16 are displayed.

As best shown in FIG. 4, the base structure 12 is adapted to be wallmounted and is generally in the form of a frame 18 constructed of aplurality of frame members 18 a-18 d. The frame 18 is shown to berectangular in shape, but it should be appreciated that the frame 18 maybe constructed in a variety of geometrical shapes, such as square,triangular, circular, or other fanciful shapes, such as, a star orheart. The base structure 12 may be made of any rigid, durable material,such as wood, plastic, metal, or the like.

The base structure 12 may be mounted on a wall using conventionalpicture hanging techniques. For example, the back side of base structure12 may be provided with keyhole hangers 22 positioned in the top andbottom frame members 18 a and 18 c. Alternatively, the base structure 12may be mounted on wall with conventional picture hanging materials, suchas wire and hooks.

The frame structure 14 may be similar in construction to the basestructure 12. That is, the frame structure 14 is generally in the formof a frame 24 constructed of a plurality of frame members 24 a-24 d. Theframe 24 is shown to be rectangular in shape, but it should beappreciated that the frame 24 may be constructed in a variety ofgeometrical shapes, such as square, triangular, circular, or otherfanciful shapes, such as, a star or heart. Also, the dimensions of theframe structure 14 may be varied. The frame structure 14 may be made ofany rigid, durable material, such as wood, plastic, metal, or the like.

The frame members 24 b-24 d are each provided with grooves 26 b-26 d,respectively, along the interior side of the frame members 24 b-24 d.The grooves 26 b-26 d cooperate with one another to define a picturereceiving space 28. The frame member 24 a is provided with a slot 29that provides access to the picture receiving space 28 whereby a displaypanel, for example, a picture, (not shown) may be inserted into orremoved from the picture receiving space 28. In one embodiment, the slot29 has a length extending from the groove 26 b to the groove 26 d and awidth that substantially corresponds with the width of the grooves 26b-26 d. The frame structure 14 may be provided with a cavity (not shown)formed on the back side of the frame member 24 c for storing andsupporting writing utensils, such as markers.

The writing panels 16 may be dry erase writing panels which are eachsuperimposed over and mounted to the frames 18 and 24, respectively. Thewriting panels 16 may be a white smooth faced rigid polypropylene sheethaving a sufficient thickness so that the sheet is rigid enough toprovide a satisfactory writing surface, yet not so thick as to addneedlessly to the overall cost and weight of the whiteboard assembly 10.The dry erase writing panels may be fabricated in a conventional mannerusing a white pigmented polypropylene and molded using conventionalextrusion molding techniques. In one embodiment the pigment is titaniumdioxide.

The smooth surface enables the user to employ conventional dry wipemarkers. These markers are known in the art and are available in thecommercial market. One suitable dry wipe marker, for example, isavailable under the trademark EXPO dry erase marker sold by the SanfordCorp., Bellwood, Ill. These markers use solvent base ink which dries toa powder after it has been applied to a smooth plastic surface. Themarkers commonly come in different colors for example, red, blue, blackand green. It has been determined that the a polypropylene surface, inparticular a white pigmented polypropylene panel as above describedforms a particularly suitable smooth white surface for receivingconventional solvent base inks used in conventional dry wipe markers.When the user writes on the writing panels 16 using conventional drywipe markers, e.g., EXPO dry erase markers, the ink easily adheres tothe polypropylene surface and can be applied in thick or thin strokes.The ink after it dries will adhere to the polypropylene surface for aconsiderably long time, for example, at least several months withoutsignificantly flaking or otherwise peeling away from the writingsurface. The ink may be applied to the surface of polypropylene writingpanels 16 even in fine lines. The dry wipe marker ink, e.g., EXPO drywipe ink when applied to the writing panels 16 readily dries to a powderand may be easily wiped away with a cloth or felt eraser.

The base structure 12 and the frame structure 14 can be affixed to oneanother using any suitable device, such as a piano hinge 32.

While the whiteboard assembly 10 has been illustrated as having onepicture receiving space 28, it should be appreciated that the pictureframe structure 14 may be constructed to have a plurality of panelreceiving spaces. By way of example, the frame structure may beconstructed in the form of two or more frames that are each pivotallyattached to the base structure 12 and which open and close similar toFrench doors with each frame member provided with a picture receivingspace.

The whiteboard assembly 10 of the present invention when in the closedposition, as shown in FIG. 1, conceals the writing panels 16 anddisplays any desired picture or painting disposed in the panel receivingspace 26 of the frame structure 14. A display panel, for example, apicture, (not shown) is easily positioned in the frame structure 14 byinserting the picture through the slot 29 which is aligned with thepanel receiving space 28. The picture may also be easily removed andreplaced with a different picture.

When it is desired to use the writing panels 16, a user simply opens theframe structure 14 until the frame structure 14 lies flush against thewall to which the base structure 12 is mounted (FIG. 3).

The advantages of the present invention include, without limitation,that it is decorative and exceedingly useful to home school parents andprofessional offices. It is easy to match the décor of a home or officewith this picture frame, but still utilize a whiteboard when needed.Matching a standard whiteboard with an established home décor is nearlyimpossible. Further, the whiteboard is concealed when not in use.

From the above description, it is clear that the inventive conceptsdisclosed herein are well adapted to carry out the objects and to attainthe advantages mentioned herein, as well as those inherent in theinvention. While several embodiments of the inventive concepts have beendescribed for purposes of this disclosure, it will be understood thatnumerous changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves tothose skilled in the art and which are accomplished within the spirit ofthe inventive concepts disclosed and claimed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A white board assembly, comprising: a basestructure adapted to be wall mounted; a frame structure constructed of aplurality of frame members, each of the frame members having a groovethat defines a panel receiving space along an interior side of the framestructure, and at least one of the frame members having a slot thatprovides access to the panel receiving space such that a display panelmay be inserted into and removed from the panel receiving space, theframe structure being affixed to the base structure in such a way thatthe frame structure is moveable between a closed position and an openposition; and at least one writing panel mounted to at least one of thebase structure and the frame structure in such a way that when the framestructure is in the closed position the at least one writing panel isconcealed from view by the frame structure and the display panelinserted in the panel receiving space is displayed, and when the framestructure is in the open position the at least one writing panel isdisplayed.
 2. The white board assembly of claim 1, wherein the panelreceiving space has a length and a width, and the slot has a lengthwhich substantially corresponds with at least one of the length and thewidth of the panel receiving space.
 3. The white board assembly of claim1, wherein the writing panel has a smooth surface adapted for markingthereon with dry wipe marking ink.
 4. A white board assembly,comprising: a base structure adapted to be wall mounted; a framestructure constructed of a plurality of frame members, each of the framemembers having a groove that defines a panel receiving space along aninterior side of the frame structure, and at least one of the framemembers having a slot that provides access to the panel receiving space,and the frame structure being affixed to the base structure such thatthe frame structure is moveable between a closed position and an openposition; a display panel disposed in the panel receiving space, thedisplay panel being slidably removable from the panel receiving spacethrough the slot; and at least one writing panel mounted to at least oneof the base structure and the frame structure in such a way that whenthe frame structure is in the closed position the at least one writingpanel is concealed from view by the frame structure and the displaypanel inserted in the panel receiving space is displayed, and when theframe structure is in the open position the at least one writing panelis displayed.
 5. The white board assembly of claim 4, wherein the panelreceiving space has a length and a width, and the slot has a lengthwhich substantially corresponds with at least one of the length and thewidth of the panel receiving space.
 6. The white board assembly of claim4, wherein the writing panel has a smooth surface adapted for markingthereon with dry wipe marking ink.